Community Action Advisory Board Overview and History

Title II of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 called for four
activities, which became the first tenets of community action:

The mobilization and utilization of public and private resources;

The provision of services and assistance for improving human
performance, motivation and productivity,

The maximum feasible participation of the intended beneficiaries of
these programs;

The administration and coordination of these programs by a public or
private nonprofit agency ("community action organization")
which is broadly representative of the community.

Until 1974, the United Planning Organization (UPO), the District of
Columbia's designated community action agency, administered Fairfax
County's Community Action and Head Start Programs from Washington, D.C.
In 1974, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors decided to increase
local control over anti-poverty efforts and created the county's own
community action agency. The agency contracted with various former
United Planning Organization delegates and community action agencies
for the provision of services.

At the outset, the new Community Action Agency operated according to
the model used by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors; that is, an
administering board was empowered to have final authority on fiscal and
managerial matters. This arrangement was altered in 1980, when a
special task force created by the Board of Supervisors recommended
assigning the Community Action Agency's management to the County
Executive and replaced the administering board with an advisory body,
the Community Action Advisory Board (CAAB). In 1980, the Board of
Supervisors created the Department of Community Action and integrated
it into the regular budget cycle for County agencies.

On August 13, 1981, the U.S Congress enacted the Omnibus
Reconciliation Act of 1981 (P .L. 97-35), which established the
Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) as the funding mechanism for
community action agencies. On July 22, 1987, the Stewart B. McKinney
Homeless Assistance Act was signed into law by President Reagan. It
provided an Emergency Community Services Homeless Grant program to CSBG
grantees.

Community Action at the national level is responsible for the
development and successful delivery of the Head Start Program. Legal
Services, the Community Food and Nutrition Program, Low Income Home
Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP ) and the Department of Energy's
Weatherization Assistance Program (DOE/WAP) all had their beginnings in
Community Action.

In 1996, the County's Human Services Redesign initiative integrated
Department of Community Action programs and services into the
Department of Family Services, and the mandated Community Action
Advisory Board (CAAB) continued its role of oversight of the Community
Services Block Grant (CSBG). The CAAB broadened its focus to include
all low-income residents of Fairfax County and took on a new role to
review and develop new policy as it relates to low-income residents
and/or reallocation of resources based on staff and CAAB monitoring and
evaluation.

During the FY 1997 budget process, the Board of Supervisors adopted a
change in the manner in which the County provides funds to
community-based agencies and non-profit organizations that provide
human services. A pool of funds (The Community Funding Pool) was
created by combining Community Service Block Grant Funds and County
General Funds and was awarded to community-based agencies on a
competitive basis beginning in the FY 1998 budget year. The Community
Funding Implementation Team (CFIT), was established by the Board of
Supervisors to identify human services needs, to establish priorities
for the use of funds and to oversee a competitive Request for Proposal
(RFP) process.

The Community Development Block Grant funds were added to the
Community Funding Pool for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 1999
(FY 2000) under the title of Consolidated Community Funding Pool. It is
funded from the following sources:

Federal and State Community Services Block Grant (CSBG)

Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)Targeted Public
Services and Affordable Housing Funds

Fairfax County General Fund.

The County Executive has appointed the Consolidated Community Funding
Advisory Committee (CCFAC) to oversee all aspects of the merged process
and they have assumed the responsibilities formerly undertaken by the
Community Funding Pool Implementation Team and the Consolidated Plan
Review Committee. The Community Action Advisory Board (CAAB) continues
to prioritize the program areas for Consolidated Community Funding Pool
awards funded through the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) and
reviews CSBG funded program performance.

In addition to the formal functions stated above, the CAAB carries out
volunteer responsibilities in areas managed by the Director of the
Department of Family Services:

Planning programs and services, economic development projects and
self-sufficiencyprojects;

Maintaining open and effective lines of communication with the Board
of Supervisors, county officials, the low-income population, and
members of the public and private sector, as well as informing those
entities about Community Action and the needs of its clients;